RC orders the arrest a trader accused of fertilizer adulteration

TUNDUMA: SONGWE Regional Commissioner, Jabiri Makame, has ordered the Police in the region and the Tanzania Fertilizer Regulatory Authority (TFRA) to swiftly complete investigations and arraign in court an agricultural input trader in Tunduma District over allegations of fertilizer adulteration and selling it to farmers.

Speaking during an inspection visit to the trader’s warehouse, RC Makame said fertilizer issues are a matter of national security.

He emphasized that any adulteration of fertilizer threatens national food security and is therefore unacceptable.

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Meanwhile, TFRA Fertilizer Quality Control Officer Enriko Renatus stated that the trader’s warehouse was found to be involved in transferring fertilizer into different bags (rebadging) without authorization from TFRA.

He added that the warehouse contained D-Compound fertilizer, which is not approved for use in the country, along with machines used for sewing fertilizer bags. The trader was also arrested together with a truck that was transporting fertilizer from Dar es Salaam Region.